I Will Take This Secret With Me to the Grave
by Stoic Harlequin
Summary: When a friendship born from science brings together human and mutant, they gain respect and knowledge from one another that they wouldn't dream of alone. Yet in discovering a dangerous secret bigger than they could have imagined, they dig their own graves.
1. My Friend

**Author's Note ::** Wow! It's been a long time. Frankly, we have been digesting the new show. I know we already started a story in regards to the 2012 version of the boys. It may have been a little premature, we weren't sure who they were yet. Writing when adapting to a new environment and 'new' characters can be challenging. We took some time to figure out how we would apply the new boys, or if we would at all, to our writings. The break has not been an indication of our interest or stories in the TMNT world. No, we're still very involved with these boys. It was just a matter of figuring out how and what to share, especially with our personal established canon.

We have decided that it's time, for now, to retire the other versions and embrace the new, active version. Love them for what they are and play with them. It's going to be fun! If nothing else, like always, we promise an adventure. Please enjoy!

* * *

**I Will Take This Secret With Me to the Grave  
****Chapter 1: My Friend**

A set of buds were wedged so deeply into Michelangelo's ears that nothing would pass beyond the deep bass and accompaniment that had his whole focus. His head bobbed to the beat, methodical, as he moseyed along, offering an occasional 'uh!' or 'yeah' to match the music. He knew the way with his eyes closed. This was fortunate as his eyes were lazily shut. A twirl, some smooth backward steps that mirrored the moon walk, and a finishing dismount ended his dance along with the last beat of the song.

One eye casually glanced open, secretly Mikey hoped someone – _anyone_ – had seen his spectacular performance. "Aooowwww," he cooed, letting his shoulders fall forward, thoroughly disappointed that no one was in the living room to witness his sheer graceful awesomeness.

His attention was quickly drawn to Donatello's abandoned laptop, sitting forgotten at the base of the couch. A snowy screen hissed from the television, but Mikey ignored it. He didn't bother turning it off, instead he scooped up the laptop. He considered what distraction he would find on the internet while figuring with what to do next to fill his day.

Brushing one finger across the touchpad revealed the snap shot of April eating a piece of pizza, taken when she wasn't looking. Mikey was used to the somewhat disturbing desktop picture; after all, he often used Don's laptop. With a quick flick of his finger, he opened the browser, expecting a fresh one, but was surprised to find a half written email in the previously minimized Google Chrome Gmail tab.

Mikey's wide eyes blinked only once. The words were too long to be anything Leonardo would have written, and too complicated for he or Raphael. Mikey was pretty sure neither of them knew what _conjugate variable_s or _eigenvector_ was either. His eyes flicked to the bottom of the screen, littered with words strung together in a fashion that Mikey couldn't decipher.

"MIKEY!"

In response to his name, the orange masked turtle jumped, the laptop leapt as he did so, right out of his hands. Don caught it midair, with a deep scowl on his face. Mikey was so focused on Donnie that he didn't see Leo only a few steps behind.

"Who's Adam?" Mikey asked swiftly, curiosity lacing his voice.

Leo's head swiveled to look at the tall, lanky brother, the conversation they'd been having before completely forgotten. Don's face turned momentarily pink and then rage flashed in his eyes toward Mikey.

"No one. It's nothing." Don snapped the laptop shut, diverting his eyes and whispering his response in passing.

"Donnie…" the questioning tone in Leo's voice drew Don back around. A sheepish hesitancy lingered over Don in that moment.

"Busted." Mikey hummed, playfully, completely unaware of the seriousness of his actions.

* * *

"What were you thinking?" Leonardo snapped, but didn't give Don a chance to respond. "You couldn't possibly have been thinking. Because if you had, you would have realized you're being absolutely insane! A human!? You've _just_ been talking to him? A SCIENTIST!?"

"It's not like that, Leo." Don wasn't sure his voice was even audible over the condescending note in his brother's tone. "It's not like I'm telling him where we live, or what we are…what I am. I…" Don's eyes searched the ground and then snapped up to his brother, "he's just my friend."

"No, you're an experiment to him."

"He doesn't know! We only talk online. We're part of this world too, Leo." Don's argument sounded dumb even to him, but it didn't keep him from believing it. "We can hide down here forever. We can fight from the shadows. But…we can't live in solitude forever. That's...well, that's just unreasonable."

"What makes you think this..._this **man**_, understands you? Where did you even meet him!? How? I mean, after Bradford, I was certain we'd all learned our lesson."

Don looked down, fumbling for a defense, an offense...something. The fact remained that Leo didn't understand, and likely never would; Don knew this. He wasn't used to be on the end of Leo's pompous, and 'always-by-the-rules', mentality. That was usually Raph's job, moreover Leo, more often than not, was quick to stand up for Mikey and Don when their hot-headed brother wanted a quick target to complain at or about.

"I met him on a forum. We just talked a few times on the board and then on instant messenger. A few emails. Text." Don ignored the size of Leo's eyes as they grew exponentially with each mode of communication. "I...he's been integral in helping me with some of our projects, by the way, working through some of the theory of…stuff. He knows things that you guys could never help me with. He's working on his PhD and has a double undergraduate major in Chemistry and Physics." Don could tell his voice was tight and his words quickly defensive.

Leo's jaw was set, his arms folded over his chest, and his chin tipped down in his most determined stance. "What forum?"

Don cringed, hoping Leo had overlooked that detail. He considered a lie, but settled for the truth. "Uh…remember last year, maybe a little more, when April made that message board for weird sightings around New York. She got that video clip of the Kraang explosion."

"Uh-huh, the one that almost got her killed and the Kraang tried to unleash the mutagen in the water supply – how could I forget?"

"I also got Metalhead from that," Don pointed out, cheerful yet matter-of-factly. Leo's unwavering expression made him recoil. Don frowned. He figured his intelligence was often under appreciated. "Well she closed it down after we had the final showdown with the Kraang. I think it sort of spooked her, the whole Kraang thing. Besides we, temporarily, got Mr. O'Neil back." Leo cleared his throat and Don offered a sheepish, passing laugh realizing he'd been derailed.. "Right, so a few of the active members started their own website. I checked it out from time to time. It was there. Well, from April's board initially, but you get the idea."

Leo just closed his eyes and shook his head. The idea that Don was talking to a human whose agenda was in the supernatural, paranormal, scientifically impossibly 'weird', or otherwise didn't sit well with him.

"Leo, come on. It's me you're talking to. Not Raph or Mikey. I know what I'm doing. I know what a safe distance is and I just," Don's mouth turned into a small, puckered frown, "Adam is my friend."

Leo sighed. "Fine. Just, keep it that way. Safe distance and don't let Mikey know. He doesn't share your discretion. And Don, do not make me regret this."

"You won't tell sensei?!" Don's hands came together as if pleading.

Leo's arms unfolded and his shoulders fell ever so slightly. "No."

Don smiled, relief washing over him. "Thanks, Leo."


	2. It's Been a Long Day Living With This

**I Will Take This Secret With Me to the Grave  
****Chapter 2: It's Been a Long Day Living With This**

Don had made a point to leave out that his friend, Adam, was local. Don knew Leo wasn't stupid, but he hoped that Leo overlooked the fact that the majority of people posting on a 'strange sightings around New York' meant those people were likely native city dwellers. He would be remiss to say he wasn't curious about the man on the other side of the keyboard.

A buzz went off on Don's phone, indicating a message. He pulled the device out; it could only be one of two people. Don reconsidered, though he expected April or Adam, he entertained the idea that it could be Mikey asking some inane or random question from two rooms down in the same abode.

**_Did you figure out the problem in your design? If not, I think I did! Boo-YAH! I emailed the schematic. Thoughts?_**

Don smiled. There was some measure of warmness that he had a friend at all. More than that, the fact that Leo hadn't demanded that he abandon the person he figured did actually understand him. Furthermore, Adam's zeal in areas that interested Don made their connection, electronically, that much more comfortable.

He quickly typed back:

**Oh yeah? I haven't check my email yet. When did you find time for that? I thought you were studying for a test?**

Nearly Instantly, without even enough time for the backscreen to go dark, a response flashed on his screen. **_Negative. I'm GRADING undergrad tests. Rocks for Jocks, that is – Geology for non Science majors._** A pause. **_Oh, by the way, I'm not into mechanics despite my big talk. I'm not sure my additions will actually make sense on your design. But it might help jar your mind. Good luck!_**

Don just chuckled and shook his head. Despite text being their only method of communication, black and white words on some screen, Don was sure he could hear Adam's excitement.

Moseying back to the lab, he casually sat behind his desk and opened up the email discussed via text. He figured a second set of eyes on the 'all terrain patrol buggy with detachable side cars' couldn't hurt. Anything to make them more functional would be a bonus. The attachment was simply titled SCHEMATIC. Don clicked it, but never could have anticipated what opened.

His eyes bugged and his hands smacked his desk when his body jumped to attention from the chair, before he even knew he'd moved. Don's mouth fell open. "Where's the go-kart…" Don's voice trailed off and then he grumbled at himself for reflexively, though he would never admit it, resorting to the name everyone else called his invention. "No…it can't be…"

Don's hands clasped the sides of the monitor as he assessed the actual schematic on his screen. There was no doubt, it was a Kraang device, far from what he had given Adam to work on. "Possibly one of the cloaking ships," Don mumbled, squinting at the small, detailed parts of the picture. He shook his head, the shock wearing off and a multitude of questions flooding his mind.

He lifted his phone, not sure whether to be terrified, confused, offended, or angry.

**Uhhh, Adam? What did you send me?**

He opted for playing dumb rather than instant anger. After all, if this was a trap of some sort, he didn't want to be caught in the middle of it or give himself away. There was no chance, he was sure of it, that Adam could know who he really was if his 'friend' did truly work with or for the Kraang. What if Adam was Kraang? Don snorted and immediately dismissed that sentiment, Adam used too many exclamation points and lacked the necessary continually repeat declaratives.

**_Some stuff about how to better connect the four separate units, and a way to boost power. Possibly how to add turbo. I know my writing is bad but you couldn't figure that out from the pictures? Really, Donnie?_**

Don stared at his phone, befuddled.

**I think you sent me the wrong thing.**

Don looked back at the computer. A chill raced the inner linking of his shell. There was an eeriness about the fact that, whether he knew it or not, Adam was in possession of something very dangerous and possibly very useful.

A new email arrived almost instantly with an attachment tiled 'Don's Project'. The body merely said:

_Don,_

_OOOOOOOPS! Please disregard that last thing. I believe these are the droids you're looking for. :)_

_-A_

Being cautious Don texted his response. **I got your updated email. What was that last one?**

Again, the response was immediate, though Leo's words were playing over and over again in his mind _'And Don, do not make me regret this.'_

**_Something I'm working on for Dr. Sweet's kid. Rather, something I'm looking at for her. She thinks it would be a fit for the site. I haven't looked at it yet. But she's POSITIVE it's alien or something. I'm not so sure._**

Only Adam, and Don himself, texted in full sentences. Don smiled briefly at that thought, relieved, and the fact that Adam wasn't part of the Kraang; at least it didn't seem that way. However, this was something that Don knew he had to curb. This schematic could not be made available to the public, those that were part of the new conspiracy site and forum would be in danger if it went live on a webpage. Don was sure the Kraang didn't miss things like this. More importantly, where did Adam's advising professor's child get a copy of this particular thing?

Discretion. That had been Don's defense. That meant he had to follow through with that.

**Let me know what you figure out. Or I could look at it for you? For her?**

Don held his breath.

**_That's awesome of you, but she'd kill me if I didn't. It's not a big deal. I just haven't had a chance yet._**

Don groaned. He had to let it settle for awhile. Pressing would only raise suspicion.

**Alright. Let me know if you change your mind.**

"Hey Don."

The feminine voice drew his attention and jarred him. He turned to see April dropping her book bag in the corner. "What's wrong? Looks like you've seen a ghost. Remember, we were going to look over my Chem homework? You forgot," her lips instantly puckered in accusing disappointment.

"What? No…I just, that was today?" Don faltered. "Hey April," ideas fluttered through his distracted mind so fast he didn't know which to settle on. In a snap it came into focus and he lit up. "Can you help me out with something, it's really important?"

* * *

April honestly had no idea how she got talked into these things. Some she volunteered for, but it usually involved playing undercover something to get information for her friends. Never had she played April O'Neil, student in need of tutoring. She shifted uncomfortably. Don better be grateful, that was the only thing she could think.

"April, right?"

She turned at the sound of her name. "Yep, that would be me. Yellow shirt, red hair, just like I said. Thanks for doing this for me."

"You bet! I mean, after all you started ConspirawebNYC. Oh, it's Adam. Nice to meet you in the real."


End file.
